Isaac Clarke

The revelation that Dead Space 3 would introduce co-op to the series brought a mild uproar from fans. They said it took the scare out of the game. Critics said the franchise was turning to Resident Evil, which is to say it’s stumbling into a creative quagmire, but those proclaiming doom and gloom for Visceral Games’ flagship franchise may have jumped the gun.

I had a chance recently to sit in on a demo of the survival horror game at EA’s winter preview this month, and after speaking with producer John Calhoun, the prognosis for a frightful Dead Space 3 is looking brighter … or maybe that should scarier.

I saw Dead Space 2 twice while I was at E3. Unfortunately, both demonstrations were eyes on. The first time came during the Electronic Arts and Sony news conferences. On my second time seeing the game, it was mostly stuff I’ve seen before with a few extras. It seems as though Visceral Games is holding its cards close to the vest for this one.

So what’s more interesting the second time around? I did appreciate how the team moves Isaac Clarke out of the space station. They expand Dead Space’s world setting it on a space colony called The Sprawl, and that move immediately pays dividends with the Church of Unitology.

It’s here where I felt that I saw things I didn’t in the original. At an actual Church of Unitology, there was this gothic mood as Isaac fought his way through this bizarre cathedral with his futuristic weapons and heads-up display. It was like having an astronaut stomping around the pews and altar Mass. It’s strange to see definitely. But somehow the mix of old and new worked. I suppose that’s an overriding theme for this sequel.

Players take on a familiar role, but there are differences. Visceral reworked the zero gravity gameplay to give Isaac more motion. He can now move in 360 degrees, when he’s floating in space. It seems a though there’s a new reliance on stasis fields and kinesis. I saw this first hand in a puzzle, where he had to turn off the gravity.